


to be, or not to be (jealous)

by SeraphOfTheGay



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Happy Ending, Hurt/Comfort, I swear, Jealousy, KuroKen - Freeform, M/M, Volleygays, apologizing, but dont worry kuroo knows what he's doing, kenma is a jealous little kitty, kuroo is his and his alone, mild kurotsukki for plot purposes, poor kenma
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-10-10
Updated: 2016-10-10
Packaged: 2018-08-20 14:04:34
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,983
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8251822
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SeraphOfTheGay/pseuds/SeraphOfTheGay
Summary: Kenma stays after practice with Kuroo, which is a normal thing for them both. However, this time it's different, for Kenma at least, because the one Kuroo is practicing with is Tsukishima Kei. And Kenma believes Kuroo might have feelings for Tsukishima, and lets his jealousy take over. 
It's up to Kuroo to make things right again.





	

**Author's Note:**

> i swear my summaries sound better than the actual story lmao

****Kenma sat impatiently on the bleachers inside Nekoma’s gym, waiting for his best friend to hurry up and end his practice session. Their regular practice with the rest of their team had ended almost an hour ago, but Kuroo had insisted that they stay longer so he could help Tsukishima Kei from Karasuno improve his blocks.

Kenma usually didn’t mind too much when Kuroo had to stay after a little longer; he always had a game handy that he played as he waited, but for some reason, today he felt a sort of weird feeling in his stomach just by watching them –– Kuroo and Tsukishima –– interact. He wondered if maybe he shouldn’t have allowed Shouyou to talk him into eating all those pork buns for lunch. 

Clutching his stomach gently, he zoned back into reality, focusing on the two middle blockers in front of him.

“...so, you have hold your arms out like this, so they can’t get past you as easily,” Kuroo was saying. Kenma looked up for a second, subconsciously catching interest.

Tsukishima raised his arms the way Kuroo showed him, but they weren’t exactly in the right position, even Kenma could tell. 

“Close, but not quite,” Kuroo said immediately, moving closer to Tsukishima. He curled his fingers around Tsukishima’s wrists, holding them in the right position. Then, he ran his hands slowly down Tsukishima’s arms, fixing the angles of his arms and elbows. 

Kenma didn’t know why, but he felt his stomach drop at the sight of that. He quickly looked down, pretending to be fully captivated by the game displayed on his device. 

“There, that seems to be right,” Kuroo announced proudly, placing his hands on his hips as he eyed Tsukishima from top to bottom. 

“Ah, okay...thanks, I guess,” Tsukishima replied, retreating to a normal position. He tugged at the bandages wrapped around his middle and ring fingers, and glanced at Kuroo from the corner of his eyes. “I still don’t understand why you’re helping me so much.”

“Like I said, I’m a nice guy.” Kuroo grinned, and Tsukishima just stared at him with a blank expression. 

“I don’t see you doing this for anyone else,” he stated, and Kenma’s ears perked up. He lifted his head slightly, but didn’t dare move his eyes off the screen.

“Ha, that’s because you’re very interesting to me,” Kuroo said, a smirk spreading across his face. “I enjoy helping people like you.”

Tsukishima shuddered. “You’re so weird.”

“Am I really?” Kuroo said in a low voice, inching closer until his face was only a few centimeters away from Tsukishima’s.

Kenma suddenly felt his head spin, and without any further thought, ended his plan to wait for Kuroo any longer.

“Kuro,” Kenma said sharply, surprising himself from the tone in his voice. “I’m going home. I... feel sick.”

Before Kuroo could even turn his head in his direction, Kenma was out the door, clutching the straps of his backpack with a solemn look in his eyes. 

“Hey, Kenma!” Kuroo yelled in panic, rushing towards the door after grabbing his bag. Before he stepped out, he turned to Tsukishima and said, “Sorry, I gotta go. Mind cleaning up for me? I’ll see ya next week!”

“Do you honestly expect me to––” Tsukishima began, but it was too late. Kuroo was out the door in a matter of seconds, and Tsukishima let out a heavy sigh. 

“Kenma! Kenma!” Kuroo called over and over, but Kenma continued walking, not paying any attention to his yelling. Unfortunately for him, Kuroo was really fast on his feet, so he caught up in a matter of seconds. “Hey, talk to me! Is something wrong? You okay?”

When Kenma didn’t respond, Kuroo jogged in front of him, blocking his path. Kenma didn’t even bother finding a way around him. He stopped in place, staring at the bright red color of Kuroo’s uniform. 

Kuroo could almost see the pain flickering across Kenma’s eyes, and he felt a surge of guilt course through his body. He searched his mind for an answer, and then pulled out his phone.

“Kenma,” he said carefully, “tell your mom I’m coming over tonight. So we can talk this out in a more private place.”

Kenma looked up slightly, but didn’t meet Kuroo’s eyes, and responded with a clear, flat-out, “No.” 

Kuroo shrank a bit, but didn’t let that stop him. He typed a quick message and hit send, receiving a response in just a few seconds. “Too late,” he said without hesitation, “I already texted her and she said it’s fine. Also, that she’d love to have me, as always~”

Kenma didn’t say anything to that; he simply walked around Kuroo and continued forward, tapping away at the buttons on his handheld console. 

Kuroo gaped at him. “Come on, don’t be like that!” He sighed, catching up to Kenma again. He walked next to him, making sure not to go too fast or too slow. 

“You’re stupid and annoying, go away,” Kenma muttered, lowering his face closer to the screen. His whole face was nearly lit up by the luminescent glow coming from the device.

For once, Kuroo kept his mouth shut. As he continued walking alongside Kenma, he put some real thought into why Kenma was upset. His mind flashed back to the time at the gym, just a couple of minutes ago, and he tried to think of the exact moment in which Kenma had announced his leave...

Then it hit him. Or at least, he had a good idea of what was bothering him. But Kuroo wasn’t really one to do things based off of mere assumptions, so he had to do something to prove that his theory was correct. 

“Kenma,” Kuroo began, stopping in his tracks, “I’m going back to the gym to help Tsukishima clean up.”

That’s when Kuroo saw it: the clear flash of pain, or something similar, flickering across Kenma’s gold eyes. 

Kenma stayed quiet for a moment, and then, almost forcefully, choked out, “...Fine. I don’t need you anyway.”

Kuroo took note of that, and told himself that the last line was just coming out of anger. “Are you sure you’re okay walking home alone?” he asked, trying to sound as convincing as possible. He had no true intention to actually leave, but he needed more proof to support his theory.

“Not really,” Kenma said slowly, and Kuroo could almost taste the poison in his voice. “But who cares, just go on and help him...”

Kuroo felt his heart beating faster. Whether it was because he was excited that his theory was closer to being proven as fact or because he was scared –– scared that he would lose Kenma for making him so upset and not stopping.

But he had to keep going. He just needed a little more evidence.

“Hey, he’s getting better, isn’t he? I think he’ll do a lot better in his matches now, don’t you think?” Kuroo lowered his voice, trying to keep it at a moderate level.

“I don’t really care Kuro...”

“It’s amazing how fast he’s improved,” Kuroo said thoughtfully. “I’m such a great teacher.”

“Like I said, I don’t care.”

Kuroo bit his lip. “Tsukishima’s really something, isn’t h–”

And that’s when Kenma lost it. No, he didn’t yell or throw a fit, he didn’t even _sound_  mad. He just turned around and finally met Kuroo’s eyes; Kuroo could see a thin line of tears under the gold, and almost wished he could take back everything he said, wished he could’ve stopped being so selfish. 

“If you want to talk about Tsukishima Kei so much, then go back to him and leave me alone! I don’t want to talk to you if he’s all you’re going to talk about...just... go away...” Kenma said shakily. Kuroo could tell that his back arched forward more, almost like he was sulking. 

He felt his heart in his throat, but now he knew for sure that his theory had been proven correct.

“Ha, gotcha!” Kuroo cheered, pointing at Kenma with a wide, ear-to-ear grin on his face. His hand was slightly trembling, but he kept the brave tone in his voice.  **“Did you just get jealous?** You did, didn’t you?”

Kenma’s eyes widened in sudden panic, his heart now beating faster. “No, I didn’t.”

“Yes you did!”

“No I didn’t.”

“You did.”

“Did not.”

“Did too.”

“Did _not._ ”

“You so did.”

“....”

Kenma’s lack of response only made Kuroo’s grin stretch further. He watched Kenma with a sympathetic look in his eyes and stepped closer. “Aw Kenma, you’re so adorable...” 

“Shut up.” Kenma turned his back to him, hiding his face beneath a curtain of his hair. 

“My little kitty got jealous~” Kuroo teased, reaching out to touch Kenma. 

Kenma quickly ducked under his arm, escaping his touch. “Don’t touch me.”

“Don’t be like that Kenma, come on, you know you love me!”

Kenma felt a chill run down his spine. “You’re an asshole.”

“Am I really?” Kuroo said, and Kenma felt something in his stomach again. He thought of Kuroo saying the same thing to Tsukishima just a few minutes ago and it only worsened his current mood.

“Yes, you are. Jerk.” Kenma glared at him, but Kuroo wouldn’t stop smiling.

“Really? I know I may be a total tease with others, but it’s just a joke when I do it to them,” Kuroo stated, almost as if he could read Kenma’s mind. “But with you, it means something. Something important, I’d like to say.”

Kenma swallowed the lump in his throat. He wanted to believe him, he really did, but just his words weren’t enough...

Again, as if he could read Kenma’s mind, Kuroo, with one dramatic step forward, pulled Kenma into a hug, holding him close. He could feel Kenma’s small head just under his chest, the warmth emitting from his forehead. 

“Kuro...let go of me...” Kenma mumbled. To his surprise, he could hear the beat of Kuroo’s heart, and it was beating _fast._  Kenma told himself that it was probably due to chasing after him, but his own heart didn’t let him believe that. He knew it was something more, something different. 

“Listen, Kenma. I’m sorry for whatever I do that bothers you. I love you and only you, alright?” Kenma’s own heart starting pounding in his chest at those words.

“Kuro–”

“I swear on it.” He hugged Kenma tighter, almost like an extra burst of reassurance. 

Kenma felt something twist in his chest, but this time it was a good feeling, and before he knew it, he was hugging Kuroo back, burying his head right where the number one was printed onto his jersey. 

“Despite all the awesome things I can do, I only have one heart, you know. And it chose you to love, not anybody else.”

“S-stop, I believe you, okay?” Kenma’s voice was very small, and Kuroo couldn’t help but admire the blush painted delicately on his face.

“I know you believe me, Kenma, but I just wanted to say it. Sometimes you say you believe something, and even if you really do, you just need more to keep believing it, right?”

“...just shut up already.” Kenma sniffed, burying his nose deeper, taking in the delicate scent of Kuroo’s clothes. It smelled a lot like sweat, obviously, considering he just got out of practice, but something else was there too: a remembrance of their childhood, a scent of pine trees and freshness with a touch of spice. 

“I’m going to spend all weekend with you. I don’t have any work so I’m free,” Kuroo said, gently running his fingers through Kenma’s hair. “And my attention will only be on you. Does that sound okay to you?”

Kenma didn’t answer with words. All he did was smile –– a pure, genuine smile –– and that was enough to let Kuroo know everything he ever needed to know. 

**Author's Note:**

> this was a request from someone on tumblr! follow imagine-our-haikyuu and request one-shots! <3


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